Jay-Z Building A New Talent Incubator

One of the biggest laments I hear for the record industry of yesteryear (like 60-70s) is that today there is little time for a young talent to develop and mature on a major record label. If you don’ t have a substantial hit off your first release then you stand a good chance of getting dropped.

Like many in the industry, Jay-Z is trying to wean himself off a reliance on selling recorded music.

His company has released only one album, his own “The Blueprint 3” in 2009. “It’s been two years since the Live Nation deal and I haven’t put out one artist,” he says. “But right now Roc Nation is profitable because we manage [artists] and we have a publishing company.”

He says such ancillaries buy the company to time to shape the musicians on its roster, including rapper J. Cole and singer Willow Smith (the 9-year-old daughter of actors Will and Jada Pinkett Smith). “We don’t have to rush out records that don’t work for the sake of making money,” he says. (More here)

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The New Rockstar Philosophy is a publication focused on music, technology, and artistry.
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